Alfbed james



A. JAMES.

' lmbrovemletn Water-Su'pprted Horse-Powers.Y

No, 129,734, Patented July 23,1872.

ze'yj non fr INVENTR.

ALFRED JAMES, or viNroN, oHIo.

IMPROVEMENTIN WATER-SUPPORTED HORSE-POWERS.-

.. j specification arming pm of Letters Patent No. 129,734, dated' July23, 1872.

. SPECIFICATION.

To all whom Vit may concern:

Beit known that pI,A ALFRED J AMES, of Vinton, in the county of Galliaand State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvementinllorse-Powers; and I do hereby declare that t the following is a fulland exact description of the same, reference being had t otheaccompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention consists, broadly, in constructing a horse-power wheel insuch manner, or in providingA it with such'means, that it is adapted toioat upon water, and be thus sustained, by which means -the frictionincidental to its operation is much reduced, and consequently the powerapplied is used in a more advantageous manner. The means employed forcarrying my invention practically into effect will be fully describedhereinafter.

In the drawing, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improvedhorse-power, and

Fig. 2 a sectional elevation of the same.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willnow proceed to l'describe fully its construction and manner ofoperation.

My invention may be generally described as follows: A suitable cisternor tank is provided, in the center of which is located abearin g for thelower end of the main shaft of the horse-power wheel. The wheel isattached to the shaft in pacity to support, when resting in the water inthe cistern, the wheel and the horse which walks upon it. `It has alsoattached to itself about the tub or tank a circle of gearing by means ofwhich its movement is communicated to other proper mechanisms. The upperend of 'the main shaft rests in proper bearings, as shown. The wheelitself is set atanangle, be-

` ing depressed upon one side.

Arepresentsthe cistern, which may be constructed `in any suitable mannerand of proper material. It is preferably, however, sunk in the ground tothe depth of about five feet, with a top portion extending above theground n about the distance of two feet. Its diameter should be abouttwenty-four feet, and the whole may be made of brick or stone unitedby'hydraulic cement. lnthe bottom of the cistern is located abridge-tree or horizontal beam, securely fastened in the walls of thecistern, which is provided near its center with a bearing for the lowerend of the main shaft. B represents the main shaft, whichmay beconstructed, of course, of any ,suitablel mate rial and proper size,but'which is, preferably, c

located at each end and one in the middle. Y

Centrally located in this tub is a vertical tube inclosing the mainshaft, which tube is fastened at the bottom to a wheel or rim three feetin diameter, resting upon an arm passing through `the main shaft, lwhicharm is bedded into the rim for the purpose of making a secure connectionbetween the two. By means of the tube leakage is prevented where themain shaft is attached to the hull. The outside of the latter is madewater-tight by calking, care being taken to leave it perfectly smooth,so that no friction is created by its passage through the water. Drepresents the track or rim of the wheel, which is, preferably,constructed of one-anda-half-inch oak plank,

about three feet wide, the plank being securedl s by rims upon eachedge, which are bolted.v

down to the arms which unite it to the main? shaft. These arms are,preferably, eight in number, and in addition to these eight addi-vtional arms are employed, which are connected to the short beams d, asshown. The whole structure is secured in such manner as to give amplestrength for the purposes for which it is designed. E represents a bandor cog wheel, preferably eighteen feet in diameter and twelve inches inwidth, which is made fast between the arms uniting the main shaft to theback of the wheel. Suitable gear-wheels take power from this wheel,communicating it to any de= sired point. F represents a brake, by meansof which the movements of the wheel may be controlled. The wheel itself,is set upon au` e y iconen.

inclined plane with sufficient elevation to start as quick as thepressure of the brake is removed. By means of this arrangement theweight of the animal operates to move the wheel more readily than if itwere set in a horizontal plane. The animal employed to actuate the wheelis kept in place by means of a hanging stall supported in any suitablemanner, in which is placed a beam so located that the animal can beattached to it by any suitable harness. After the wheel has beenconstructed and is ready for use, water should be let into thev cisternuntil the wheel with the horses weight added thereto is borne up by itsufliciently to relieve the lower step from weight. lt is not designedto ioat the lower journal out of its bearings, but simply to support theweight of the wheel. The journals at each end serve to guide the wheeland keep it in proper position. When the necessary quantity of water isascertained its height may be marked for convenience in filling at othertimes.

The operation of the wheel is like the crdi- :cary tramp-wheel, with theexception that the friction is very largely reduced. Practical testsindicate that the friction of a wheel running in water, as described, isbut one-third as much as ar wheel running upon a naked pivot in the oldway.

Having thus fully described my invention, whatl claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

A horse-power wheel supported by water, and combining the cistern, thehull, the main shaft, the main wheel, and the geanwheel, as described.

This specication signed and witnessed this 23d day of April, A. D. 1872.

Witnesses: ALFRED J AMES.

R. B. CARTER, ELLEN CARTER.

